#28 in Adventure
The Darkest Hour
- 336
- Pages
- about 6 h
- Reading time
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Our view
The first “Warriors” arc gets a fitting finale in “The Darkest Hour”, which leads the four Clans of wild cats to the battle for the forest. Some readers call it the best of the six, praising its twists and a hero whose difficulties feel believable. Given how many cats die, some wonder what age it suits; others who loved it as children find less in it now.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Darkest Hour is a young adult fantasy novel, the sixth and final book in the original Warriors series by Erin Hunter, telling the story of the fictional cat Firestar. The series revolves around a group of wild cats living in four Clans, ThunderClan, RiverClan, WindClan, and ShadowClan. It was published on 1 October 2004 by HarperCollins. The story chronicles the events directly after A Dangerous Path and leads to the final battle for the forest. It is the final installment in the first Warriors story arc, The Prophecies Begin.
Reading order · Warriors
Full order & progress →- Into the WildStart here
8.18.1 / 10 - Fire and Ice
7.97.9 / 10 - Forest of Secrets
8.08.0 / 10 - Rising Storm
8.08.0 / 10 - A Dangerous Path
8.08.0 / 10 - The Darkest HourThis book
8.18.1 / 10 - Midnight
7.87.8 / 10 - Moonrise
7.97.9 / 10 - Dawn
8.08.0 / 10 - Starlight
7.97.9 / 10 - Twilight
–Not ranked yet - Sunset
8.18.1 / 10 - The Sight
8.08.0 / 10 - Dark River
–Not ranked yet - Outcast
–Not ranked yet - Eclipse
8.08.0 / 10 - Long Shadows
–Not ranked yet - Sunrise
–Not ranked yet - The Fourth Apprentice
–Not ranked yet - Fading Echoes
–Not ranked yet - Night Whispers
–Not ranked yet - Sign of the Moon
–Not ranked yet - The Forgotten Warrior
–Not ranked yet - The Last Hope
–Not ranked yet - The Sun Trail
–Not ranked yet - Thunder Rising
–Not ranked yet - The First Battle
–Not ranked yet - The Blazing Star
–Not ranked yet - A Forest Divided
–Not ranked yet - Path of Stars
–Not ranked yet
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.4 across 110 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 43% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Adventure average of 7.8. That is how 8.1 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.9 | 23 | 21% |
| Hardcover | 8.3 | 87 | 79% |
Frequently asked
What age is The Darkest Hour for?
The Darkest Hour sits on the Children shelf in the sources we use, which by convention means roughly ages 5–10. This is a guide from the book’s category, not a publisher’s age rating. It has 336 pages — shorter than 90% of the ranked books in Adventure.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Adventure — with scores between 8.0 and 8.2, closest to this book.
